Asia

The sweeping crackdown on dissent in China under Xi Jinping is well known. While most international media reports focus on repression against liberal dissidents it is not unusual for left activists also to be targeted. This is highlighted by an ongoing case in the southern province of Guangdong.

As widely feared the Chinese dictatorship has begun blocking pro-democracy candidates from standing in upcoming by-elections in Hong Kong to fill four of the seats left empty after the ousting of six opposition legislators last year. The move is the latest instalment in a creeping coup against the mass democracy movement.

Socialist Movement Sind (SMS) has come under attack recently by organised gangs. SMS member, Shabana Marri, was physically and sexually assaulted on her way to the office. The local police and authorities initially refusing to take action, have now launched false accusations against those complaints.

A nine-minute video made by the New York Times may cost Tibetan language rights activist Tashi Wangchuk fifteen years in prison. He is the latest victim in an unprecedented crackdown in which hundreds of dissidents and rights advocates have been arrested, abducted, ‘disappeared’, tortured, forced to appear in televised ‘confessions’ and...

We publish below a new introduction by Peter Taaffe to his book 'Marxism in Today's World' which will be published in Bengali, this year. This book gives explanations of some of the basic ideas of the Committee for a Workers' International. It was originally the product of an interview with an Italian socialist in 2003. First published in...

The word environment was mentioned 89 times by Xi Jinping in his report to the 19th Congress of the ruling “communist” party, even more than ‘economy’. He has sent out investigative teams from the central government to the provinces to check on the progress of anti-pollution measures. Reports indicate that over 12,000 officials and...

Tensions in Kazakhstan were mounting in the run-up to Kazakhstan’s ‘Independence Day’ this year. It was the sixth anniversary of the massacre of striking oil-workers in Zhanaozen and thousands of miners in Karaganda were on strike. Hundreds were occupying the pits in pursuit of the coal-miners long-standing claim for a doubling of wages...

A dramatic strike struggle has broken out in the Karaganda coal mines of Kazakhstan which now come under 'Arcellor Mittal Temirtau'. Within the first few hours of their strike action, the miners were offered 20% rises and then 50%, but hundreds of the strikers have sworn they will stay below ground until they get the full claim. They are...

The 19th Congress of the CCP, held in October, adopted the party leader’s doctrine of iron dictatorship. China’s “great power” status is enshrined in the party constitution but stable government is still by no means guaranteed.

The victory of Abe Shinzo in the October 20 general election opens up the possibility of him becoming the longest serving post-war Japanese Prime Minister. However, appearances can be deceptive, and his overwhelming victory does not indicate that the path ahead for him will be smooth or that Japan is set for a new period of stability.

Protesters gathered outside China’s embassies and consulates, as well as the Hong Kong government’s Economic and Trade Offices, in 22 cities across 20 countries on Thursday and Friday 12-13 October. The protests were part of a newly launched international campaign, Global Solidarity – Stop Repression in Hong Kong.